The Canterbury Muslim Community Trust had organised a wonderful Islamic Arts exhibition in Christchurch South Library between April 2 and 9. We had also covered the story in our last issue. Below we present some out of the 53 displays in the four categories of architectural, decorative, calligraphy and textile arts.

The banner exhibition was displayed at the Christchurch City Council building depicting their life stories. It was commissioned by the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, and organised by the Foundation's Reserach Centre, and Rewi Alley Education and Cultural Centre.

A northern hemisphere winter. Ten flights - at all times of day and night on four different carriers. One carry on backpack. Busy London. A dictator and civil unrest in West Africa. Dangerous Middle East. Within less than three weeks.

In this holiday issue, we encapsulate the beauty, the history, and the issues across South Island. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we have left areas around Kaikoura for obvious reasons, but readers may find the 69 pictures - from page 4 to page 15 - an useful aid to get the gist of Te Waipounamu. Yes, this is the Maori name of New Zealand's South Island, which means "the waters of greenstone".

Images from the pyrotechnics display at New Brighton Pier, Christchurch, held on November 5, and attended by thousands. These images are provided by Joy Kochakkan. Please check his facebook page - JK images to view more such pictures.

Yogyakarta is the hub of Javanese culture in Indonesia, which has seamlessly integrated cultural traits of Hinduism and Buddhism, with Islam. Even though, the people of Java are mainly Muslims, they are very proud of their links with other cultures and religions. On top of it, the most striking feature of the city is the omnipresence of graffiti on almost every wall around the city, presenting a very liberal face of Indonesia. To quote the Lonely Planet, "Yogyakarta is where the Javanese language is at its purest, arts at their brightest and its traditions at their most visible."